We Were Young
by kili-kittencat
Summary: Jack Atlas, sole heir to the richest family in Neo Domino, would give up everything just to have one true friend. A little homeless boy with striking blue eyes may prove to be what he was looking for, and more. ***ON HIATUS, see my profile for more details***
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at writing something with multiple chapters. I may forget about it, you have been warned.**

**I'm not really sure how long this will be, or where it's heading. I've got a vague idea, but I haven't sorted the ending yet. If anyone has anything they would like to see in the story (within reason) then let me know, and I may try to incorporate it.**

**This will be eventual Kingcrabshipping. 'Don't like it, walk out' as Yusei would say.**

**It's set in some kind of alternate universe, and Jack's parents, as well as any other non-canonical characters that may appear, are my own creation. Apart from that, I own nothing. Unfortunately.**

**I'm rating it T, because there is likely to be violence and/or swearaging words in later chapters.**

**Anyways, on with chapter 1.**

**WE WERE YOUNG**

The sun shines brightly on the picturesque landscape Neo Domino City Park. Birds sing in the trees, and the crème de la crème of society sun themselves under their dappled canopies. A young blond boy, about nine years old, but rather tall for his age, sits with his mother, bored out of his mind, idly pushing a little toy motorcycle through the dirt. His mother irritably slaps it away with her fussy, lace-gloved hand, lest he get earth on his expensive-looking trousers. The boy frowns and sighs, but stays quiet, knowing better than to pick a fight with her. He is Jack Atlas, sole heir to the wealthiest family in Neo Domino, and he is dissatisfied with his lot in life.

He doesn't care about any of these people with their comfortable, privileged lives and middle-class problems; he doesn't want to wear the expensive, tailor-made outfits picked out for him each day. Hell, he doesn't even care that much about inheriting his family's fortune.

To a nine-year-old, this is all incredibly tedious. His life is boring and repetitive, and he would give it all up for some variety. Adventure. Drama. Even for just one real friend. The other children are all in awe of him because of his high standing in society, but none of them care about him for any other reason than his wealth. Every day, Jack is surrounded by so many people: his parents; their servants; his tutors; various snobbish aunts, uncles and family friends who look down their noses at him and criticise various aspects of his person...

...and yet he feels so incredibly lonely.

Ignored by the self-interested rich families who are all deep in conversation about ballet and flower arranging and ornamental teapots; a rather small, scrawny boy sits on his own on a bench, hugging his knees to his chest. He has to be no more than eight years old, with lightly tanned skin, deep blue eyes, and spiky black hair streaked with orange. His thin body and too-large clothes are smeared with dirt, and his whole persona gives off the aura of someone who has been sleeping rough for a while. He just sits there, saying nothing, and watches.

That evening, when Jack and his mother are leaving the park, they walk past a little boy with striking blue eyes, sat on a bench. Jack looks at the boy with interest, and waves to him, saying goodnight.

"Be quiet, Jack!" His mother snaps. "Don't talk to him. He's just a dirty homeless person, he probably has germs."

Jack walks home, the little homeless boy with the blue eyes hovering somewhere at the back of his mind.

The next morning, Jack picks a wild flower in his garden. It is small and delicate but tough to survive their gardener's weeding amnesties, and its petals are royal blue. Something about the colour appeals to Jack, but he has forgotten why.

**So... that's the first chapter done. I'm not sure when the next one will be up, maybe tomorrow or the weekend.**

**Reviews make me a happy little duellist! (Although duelling doesn't exist in this universe)**

**And that's all I have to say, except that I appear to have developed an obsession with caramelldansen.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So. Chapter 2. This one's a bit longer (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID :D)**

**No one has actually reviewed this story yet, and I'm hoping there is someone somewhere in the world who actually cares that I've updated.**

**They are probably horribly OOC the whole way through this *is ashamed***

**And yes, Jack's mum who only exists in my imagination is a big meanie.**

***insert hilariously funny disclaimer here***

**CHAPTER 2**

The next day saw Jack Atlas back at the park again, this time on his own. His parents are at home entertaining guests; so, rather than staying home and being picked on by adults who seemed to find him continuously at fault, he decides to take a walk.

Jack loves it when he is alone at the park because he can play as much as he wants. He runs around, arms outstretched like a jet plane; and strips off his shoes and socks and jumps in the pond, to the annoyance of a few ducks who are not overly pleased with having a hyperactive child in their midst. When his feet begin to grow numb from the cold water he climbs out, disentangles a piece of pondweed from his big toe, he runs over to the tyre swing with the intention of climbing into it and spinning until he was sick; but then stops.

The swing is already occupied by someone.

A rather small someone.

A rather small, sleeping someone, curled up on the tyre.

A rather small, sleeping, oddly familiar someone.

The boy stirs, roused by all the noise Jack was making, and blinks sleepily at him out of big blue eyes, and Jack recognises him as the boy from the park. Jack wonders why he was asleep outside.

"Sorry if I disturbed you," he said, turning away. "I'll go somewhere else."

He has begun to walk away when he hears a quiet, clear voice.

"Wait."

He turns, to see the blue-eyed boy holding something out in the palm of his hand.

"You left this." Jack comes closer and sees his toy motorcycle in the boy's outstretched hand. He takes it, and smiles gratefully. A new possibility occurs to him.

"My name's Jack. Do you want to be my friend?" he asks. The boy looks taken aback.

"I-I've never had a friend before," he says in surprise. Then, after a moment's consideration, "I think I'd like that. My name's Yusei."

Jack shakes Yusei's hand in the formal manner he had been taught at a young age, and is surprised at how rough and calloused Yusei's small hands feel. He meets Yusei's solemn, deep blue gaze, and is momentarily lost for words.

"Do you want to play on the swing?" Yusei asks.

"Ok, but you have to push me!"

A few hours later, Jack and Yusei lie on the grass, tired out from running around all afternoon. They look for shapes in the clouds, and laugh at the sillier suggestions (Jack sees a headless dinosaur on a skateboard and Yusei a foot being eaten by a chicken). They just sit there for a while, enjoying each other's company, when Jack is struck by a sudden thought.

"How come you were asleep outside?"

Yusei sighs. "I don't have anywhere inside to sleep in."

"Really?" asks Jack, interested. "You don't have a house? That must be exciting."

"I guess," says Yusei, with a non-committal shrug. "It can be kind of scary sometimes."

"But what about your family? Where do they live?"

"I don't have one. Is it nice, having a family?"

"Not really, mine are a bit useless." Jack scoffs. Yusei giggles a little at this. "Hey, Yusei, if you don't have anywhere else to go, d'you want to sleep round mine for the night?" Yusei nods enthusiastically, happy about the prospect of a warm bed and a roof over his head.

They walk home together, and because the evening air is cool, Jack wraps his arm around Yusei in an innocent gesture of friendship.

"Under no circumstances am I letting a filthy homeless person live in my house and get dirt all over my furniture! I expected better of you, Jack!" Mrs. Atlas emanates fury; hands on hips like a pink-apron-clad tyrant.

"But he's my friend..."

"No buts! Get out of my house!"

Yusei hangs his head dejectedly, and shuffles out of the door. Looks like it would be another night at the park for him. Jack stares after him for a few moments, then storms up to his bedroom and locks the door.

**If I get just one review I'll be insanely happy.**

**Please find it in your heart to offer some feedback *le puppy eyes***


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, I got reviews! *le happy dance* Still, I would love more.**

**Chapter 3 already, writing a multi-chapter fic isn't that hard after all.**

**I probably won't be able to update this until the weekend, sorry about that.**

**This is definitely my favourite chapter so far. I was tempted to end the story here, but that would be mean to both the reader and Jack and Yusei *hugs them both* Plus, I have big plans for this story. MUAHAHAHA!**

**Okay, not very big plans. And that evil laugh was unnecessary. I'm sorry. Don't cry.**

**Chapter 3**

Yusei trudges miserably away from Jack's house, his footsteps resounding and echoing through the silent streets.

Thud. Thud. Shuffle.

He should have realised, it was too good to be true. Why would Neo Domino's wealthiest, most affluent family want to associate with a worthless urchin like him, much less share their accommodation? He realises he might never get to see Jack again; and is shocked when a few hot little tears prick at his eyes, because after all, he has only known the boy a few hours

Shuffle. Thud.

Yusei curls up on the ground in a bus shelter, and the tears that have been threatening to spill since the encounter with Jack's mother suddenly pour down his face like a waterfall, freezing on his cheeks in the cold night air. He wraps his arms over his head as if to shield himself from the world, and howls until his voice is cracked and his throat is raw. He cries for the family he never had, people to care for him and keep him safe no matter what; he cries for himself, cold, alone and unloved; he cries until he has no tears left to cry; then curls up, a dirty, shivering mound on the floor, and succumbs to his exhaustion.

When Jack wakes up the next morning, his first though is of Yusei, and how he should probably find him and apologise to him for the events of the previous day. He haphazardly throws on trousers and a shirt, and pelts down, the stairs, snatching a couple of sandwiches from the kitchen.

"Where are you going, darling?" his mother calls from the sitting room where she is busy with her embroidery.

"Nowhere, mum!" he yells, racing out the front door and down the street. When he finally finds Yusei, he looks pretty bad. He's asleep on the ground in a dirty bus shelter, and judging by the way he's shivering, he was probably there all night. But the worst part is his face, which is streaked and red, and looks like he's been crying.

He gently prods Yusei with his finger, and the boy jerks awake.

"I brought you some food," Jack says, handing over one of the sandwiches. Yusei takes it, and they eat in silence for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry about my mum, she's pretty strict," he apologises.

"Are we still friends?"

"Of course!"

"Good... Race you to the swing!"

Going to see Yusei becomes part of Jack's daily routine. Each morning he wakes up bright and early and runs down to the park, bringing with him whatever food he can pilfer from the cooks. The two boys play together; climbing trees, jumping in the pond, and running around under the hot summer sun. All too soon the last days of summer start to fade away into autumn like crunchy leaves falling from the trees. Autumn, and the two friends can be found sitting side by side, watching the sunset.

"Everything has changed, hasn't it?" Yusei says. Jack thinks for a moment, and yes it has. This was the first summer he has really enjoyed, because he had someone special to share it with.

Something small and blue catches his eye. He looks down and sees, twinkling through the semi-darkness, more of the little blue flowers. He picks a bunch, and shows them to Yusei.

"I like these flowers," he explains. Yusei wrinkles his nose slightly. He has never really understood the appeal of flowers. They don't do anything useful and you can't eat them.

"Why?"

"They remind me of you." Jack says gently, reaching over and tucking a few of the flowers into Yusei's spiky hair, the colour perfectly matching his eyes. The smaller boy blushes slightly, but it is covered by the darkness.

Jack eventually gets up to leave, and in a fit of sudden boldness, Yusei goes up on tiptoe and kisses him lightly on the cheek. To any bystander it would look like an innocent gesture of farewell, as the blond leaves his friend, the same as every night for the past few weeks, with the intention of coming back.

But the next morning, Jack's parents ship him off to boarding school in a far distant city, and the little blonde boy's visits to the park stop. While he is off learning new things, making friends and having the time of his life, Yusei is left alone again. Through bitter autumns, harsh winters, flooded springs and scorching summers he is left alone, unloved and largely ignored by society, and none the wiser about why his best friend had suddenly stopped visiting him.

**What will happen next? When will they meet again? How are they going to fall in love? Who wants to give Jack's mum a good kick up the arse? Why am I asking you these questions?**

**Find out in the next instalment of We Were Young, by me, to be published at... some point. **

**Until then, it's goodbye from me and goodbye from the story.**

**Say goodbye, story.**

**Story: Au revoir, mes petits poisons! ****Je ne sais pas porquoi je parle le français!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I lied. It's not being updated at the weekend.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! But please let me get more than 4! *le puppy eyes***

**This chapter is mostly responsible for the rating.**

**WARNINGS: language, homophobia, violence, blood.**

**Oh, and Youshaganai is from the Japanese **_**yousha ga nai,**_** meaning no mercy. I thought it was an appropriate name for him. **

**CHAPTER 4**

Ten years pass, like mayflies in the summer, since they parted. The time is kind to Jack, and he grows tall, broad, strong and handsome. Excelling in virtually everything he tried and the captain of every sports team the boarding school had to offer, his friends have taken to nicknaming him 'the King'. At nineteen years old he leaves the school for the last time, in a blaze of glory with endless opportunities before him, and boards the train that will take him back home after so many years of being away. He scarcely remembers what the place looks like; it has been almost totally eclipsed by the struggles, triumphs and adventures of his new school life. There is a little part of him that is inwardly rejoicing at returning to Neo Domino, the memory of a little boy with royal blue eyes, but he no longer remembers the boy's name.

The years are less good to Yusei. The streets are a harsh and dangerous environment for a child to grow up in, especially an orphan with no one to look out for him, and a lack of proper food leads him to be malnourished and short for an eighteen year old. He has no option but to join one of the city's many gangs for protection, and for his initiation they brand a jagged mark onto his face below his left eye. He doesn't like their lifestyle, having to steal and fight to survive; but if he had stayed on his own he would probably not be alive now, dead of starvation or murdered for fun by some sicko. His eyes are still the same striking blue as they were, but they no longer hold the childish innocence they once did. Instead they are hollow and empty; the eyes of someone who has already lost hope and is just waiting for the end.

Jack's train reaches the station at 10 PM, and he exits it and begins to walk at a leisurely pace, back to the home he has not missed. It is dark by now and the streets are almost deserted, and Jack has all but forgotten the dangers of a city at night.

The gang leader, a mean, tough-looking man named Youshaganai, narrows his eyes as a smirk spread slowly across his face. He raises one finger and points wordlessly at a wealthy-looking blond man passing by on the other side of the road. He would be their next victim.

"Him?" asks one of the thugs uncertainly. "I dunno, man, he looks pretty ripped." He eyes Jack's impressive muscles with apprehension.

"Don't be such a fucking idiot. There's twelve of us and only one of him." Youshaganai's malicious eyes alight on Yusei, who had been standing at the sidelines, previously unnoticed. "Why don't we let the midget have a go? He's never even killed before."

Yusei looks down the alley toward their new target, and his heart seems to stop.

"No! You can't hurt him!" It all comes flooding back. The toy motorcycle. Playing on the swing. Swimming in the river in the summer heat.

"Why not? You too much of a pussy?"

"Because... Because..." Watching the sunset together. Blue flowers in his hair. A fleeting kiss on the cheek that left his lips tingling for hours afterwards. "Because I think I'm in love with him."

Silence. Then jeers erupt from all sides, Yusei cringes at mocking cries of "He's a fag!" and "The midget's a fucking queer?"

Then Youshaganai is nose-to-nose with Yusei, and suddenly the situation becomes much more serious.

"That's fucking disgusting." he spits, and slams his fist into Yusei's stomach. The boy doubles over, wheezing and panting for breath, before another fist meets his jaw and sends him sprawling backwards into the dirt, red-hot pain erupting all over his body. The gang members gather round, and proceed to kick and punch him mercilessly. Yusei sees the silver flash of a knife, and blacks out.

Jack is almost back at his house when he hears a disturbance. At first he thinks nothing of it, but soon cries of pain and heavy thuds meet his ears, and alarm bells start ringing in his head. He turns, and sprints back up the street, coming to a stop at a dark alleyway.

What he sees makes him sick to his stomach.

Someone is lying face down on the ground, clearly unconscious, in a pool of his own blood. He had obviously been beaten up, and just left there to die in the cold.

Jack kneels down to the body, and turns him over.

"OhmygodshitfuckYusei."

The injured boy has light caramel skin, spiky black and orange hair, and half-closed, empty blue eyes. Jack hasn't seen him in ten years, but recognises him as clearly as if their last encounter had only been yesterday.

Disregarding the blood that was starting to seep into his own jacket, he slings Yusei over his shoulder and runs home as fast as he can.

**Thank you to everyone who has been reading this!**

**All you have to do now is press that lil review button.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much to everyone who has been following this story! Hugs and free noodles for everyone!**

**I'm really sorry this took so long to update. On Friday I was doing homework, on Saturday I was being crazy at the park with my friends, and on Sunday I went to Felixtowe. Updates probably won't be at regular intervals because I'll have to fit them around my schoolwork and stuff.**

**Once again, I'm still not entirely sure what direction this story is going in. I'm seriously considering killing off one or both of them before the end and making it into a nice little tragedy. If you have anything you might like to see in this story and/or any characters you would like to make cameos, let me know, and I'll try to include them.**

**I'll shut up now. Onwards with the story!**

**CHAPTER 5**

Jack runs as fast as his legs would carry him up the front porch and into the door, Yusei still slung over his shoulders like a limp rag doll. He opens the front door cautiously and looks around, but all the lights are off and there was no sign of movement. It is late, and his parents must have gone to bed. He tiptoes up the stairs and into the bathroom, careful not to wake them, and sits Yusei down on the side of the bath to have a proper look at him.

In the years they had spent apart, Yusei had changed considerably. Life on the streets clearly hadn't suited him well; his hair is dirty and unkempt and his whole body has a thick coating of grime, looking as if he hasn't washed in at least a few months. He is also covered in scars, the most prominent being a jagged stripe under his left eye. Jack traces over it lightly with his finger, and wonders where it came from.

Yusei's normally tan face is chalky white from blood loss, and bruises litter his skin. His right jacket sleeve is soaked with blood, and Jack thinks he probably ought to clean up the wound before it gets infected. He starts to run a shallow bath, and gently begins tugging off Yusei's clothes, being careful not to hurt him. He gently eases the sticky sleeve down Yusei's arm, and feels slightly nauseated when the newly forming scab is pulled down with it and fresh blood wells up out of it like a spring. The injury itself is covered up by the blood pouring down his arm in thick rivulets, so as of yet Jack is unable to see how much damage was done.

He pulls off the rest of Yusei's clothes, trying hard to stay focused on the task at hand. Although he is still painfully thin with ribs that stuck out like razors, Yusei has developed lean, taut muscles from years of fighting; and Jack can't help thinking that Yusei looks incredibly hot.

He mentally slaps himself. He hasn't seen the guy in ten years, and now he's checking him out like a horny teenager. He lifts Yusei's naked form into the bath, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on his face, although the sight of his slightly parted pinkish lips doesn't exactly help the situation.

Jack dabs lightly at Yusei's arm with a sponge, gently cleaning the wound and watching as his bathwater grows red from the blood. When most of the sticky crimson mess has been cleared away, some of the wound is revealed. Jack leans in to look, and recoils in shock.

What he sees makes him sick to the stomach.

A letter 'F', the beginning of a word, gauged deep into the flesh of Yusei's right arm like some macabre message board. With shaking fingers, Jack slowly wipes away the rest of the blood to reveal two more letters.

F-A-G. Fag. The nasty little word carved into Yusei's flesh, still oozing droplets of blood.

This time, Jack thinks he might actually be sick as his surroundings seem to fade away and his field of vision is filled by the bloody gashes. The realisation of what has happened, how some cruel bastard stuck a knife into his best friend, hits him with the force of a freight train; and he staggers to the toilet and heaves up the contents of his stomach. He flops down, head throbbing and insides lurching uncomfortably.

When he is able to think clearly, he considers the attacker's choice of wording. Fag. So Yusei is gay. This doesn't bother Jack. Back at school he had been involved with several of the boys, but never anything serious. He hadn't even kissed any of them before, they had always been busy with... other things.

He wonders if Yusei has ever done anything sexual with another guy.

Yusei...

He gently picks up Yusei and lifts him out of the bath, and drains away the bloody water. Jack dresses his wound with a strip torn from a towel. It's not antiseptic and he will probably have to change it to stop it getting infected, but it will do for now. He dresses them both in his pyjamas (which hang ridiculously off of Yusei's small frame), and seeing as there is no room elsewhere, he tucks his childhood friend up snugly in one side of his lavish double bed, before joining him under the covers.

Yusei looks incredibly peaceful as he lies there, still unconscious. His hair is now clean and fluffy, and Jack is overcome by the bizarre urge to stroke it. Pushing this rather strange thought aside, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

It had been a long day.

**So they are starting to get feelings for each other, but you'll have to wait for a bit before they do anything about it.**

**They won't be having sex on screen (haven't decided about off screen yet) so sorry to anyone who was hoping for a lemon.**

**On a completely unrelated note, my friend told me she wanted to give me a bowl cut today. That's the third person this year.**


	6. Chapter 6

**There you have it, another chapter. It probably doesn't make sense seeing as I'm half asleep, but I wanted to update before I forget about it.**

**Not an awful lot happens in this chapter, except that Yusei lies around and procrastinates.**

**I really hope someone is reading this story and actually caring about what will happen.**

**This chapter marks the return of Jack's Mother of Doom, and contains some half-asleep!Yusei.**

**I do not own Yusei or Jack. I am merely borrowing them for a while; and will return them soon, unharmed and probably fairly happy.**

**CHAPTER 6 (I think)**

Intense, searing pain.

Sinister figures closing in on him in the darkness.

The flash of a knife...

Yusei Fudo jerks awake, drenched in sweat and gasping in pain from his injured arm. He lays still for a minute or two, catching his breath and calming down as the danger seems to have passed; before he wonders why he isn't dead. Surely, if Youshaganai hadn't killed him on the spot, he would have left him to bleed to death in the cold alleyway. Which he had somehow escaped, and ended up in... this place.

Now he thinks about it, Yusei has absolutely where he is or how he came to be there. He squints around. Darkness on all sides.

Cautiously, he begins to examine his surroundings. He is lying in a warm, dry place, very different to the bitter cold outdoors he is used to. Not only is it warm and dry, it is also squishy. He is lying on a big, warm, squishy... something. He knows he is in a strange environment, but his head is so heavy and this place is so warm and comfortable, he just can't bring himself to be suspicious. His eyelids begin to droop again. He's been sleeping here for probably a few hours already, a little longer couldn't possibly hurt.

When Yusei wakes for the second time, it is early morning, and the first rays of sunlight are beginning to permeate the darkness. He squints around, and realises with a shock that he is inside a house. Quite a fancy one at that, by the looks of all that ornate furniture and the four-poster bed which, up until now, he hadn't realised he was lying in. Hm. He has never been in a bed before. It feels surprisingly clean. He runs a hand through his hair, and to his astonishment it is silky and clean, and free from its usual grease and grime.

This is really starting to freak him out. Someone has taken him back to their house, washed him, and put him in their bed. He turns his head slowly to the right, filled with a sense of trepidation, not knowing who or what he might see on the other side of the bed.

Pale blond hair. Regally handsome features. Impressive muscles.

Yusei's face flushes uncharacteristically cherry red when he realises he is lying next to the half-naked, sleeping form of Jack Atlas, the little boy who was his first friend, who has now grown into a man. And quite an attractive one at that.

It is rather awkward to suddenly find yourself sharing a bed with your childhood crush; and it is made even more awkward by the fact that Yusei is wearing what appears to be a pair of Jack's pyjamas, which means that Jack had to have taken his clothes off. So he'd seen Yusei naked.

Oh dear God.

Yusei sniffs the collar of the pyjama shirt, and is met with Jack's scent mixed in with his own. The combination is enough to make Yusei's face even redder.

He casts his eyes over Jack's sleeping form; taking in his friend's well-toned, and to be perfectly honest, sexy body; before mentally slapping himself. He hasn't seen the guy in ten years, and now he's checking him out like a horny teenager.

Besides, he has absolutely no reason to think that Jack might feel the same way. He's probably into girls, Yusei thinks miserably.

He lies back down, and feels a stabbing pain in his shoulder. Still not knowing what Youshaganai and the others did to him, Yusei probes it lightly with his finger. The injury has been wrapped up in some kind of makeshift bandage. He is overcome by a sudden surge of gratitude towards Jack, who has obviously been taking care of him.

"Jack! Are you up yet?" The familiar cold female voice rings out from somewhere beyond the room. Yusei begins to panic as he recognises it as Jack's mother. There's no way she'd let him stay, given how she treated him the last time they saw each other.

Jack, now awake, opens his deep purple eyes, and turns to face Yusei; the serious look on his face indicating that he was thinking the same thing.

"Hide!" he whispers urgently, pushing him towards an ornate wardrobe. Yusei climbs inside it as fast as he can without hurting himself, and watches the following exchange through the crack between the doors.

Jack opens his bedroom door and lets his mother in. She is exactly how Yusei remembers her: tall, forbidding and wearing a fussy little lacy blouse. She gives Jack a tight hug, something he does not look overly thrilled about.

"It's simply lovely to see you again! I've been telling all my friends how spectacularly you've been doing in school! I expect you to get a job as a doctor or lawyer soon. Oh dear, you've grown; those trousers are terribly short on you..." she goes on, barely letting her son get a word in edgeways. When she has finished with her rather irksome display of maternal over-protectiveness, Jack manages to shoo her out on the pretext of getting changed.

Yusei tumbles out of the wardrobe, and the two boys' eyes meet across the room. A rather awkward silence descends upon the room.

"Er..." says Jack uncomfortably. "Don't get the wrong impression. There was only one bed, that's the only reason we were sharing. It's not like I kidnapped you and molested you in your sleep or anything. I only took you here because you were bleeding to death, I couldn't just leave you there..." he tails off.

"Jack." says Yusei solemnly.

"...Yes?"

"Thank you for taking care of me."

**Jack: Please review, and support Fluffy's hard work!**

**Yusei: For some reason we have started talking to you!**

**Me: There's one thing left to say...**

**All: CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES! **


	7. Chapter 7

**EDIT: DUE TO THE LACK OF INTEREST IN THIS STORY I HAVE DECIDED TO DISCONTINUE IT  
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**I have returned from beyond the beyond, and by that I mean school.**

**I know this is super late and everything, but I was suffering from a nasty case of writer's block. Luckily I have ideas now (:**

**There should be one or two chapters after this and an epilogue.**

**Oh, and there's a bit of fluffy h/c in this chapter, which I'm really not used to writing. However I managed to counteract the cuteness with the reappearance of Youshaganai, who I think we can agree is rather an unpleasant character.**

**CHAPTER 7**

Gently so as not to hurt the healing skin, Jack eases away the bloodstained makeshift bandage around Yusei's arm. Yusei winces as it is removed, and looks on with apprehension as the wound is revealed.

The last of the bandages fall to the floor.

Yusei's eyes widen as he catches sight of the slashes in his arm.

It would be so much better if it was just a normal stab wound, a nonspecific injury that could have come from anything.

Instead, the malicious little word was carved in his skin; a reminder of that fateful night and one of his biggest secrets, and how some people would never be willing to accept him.

Fag.

It looks pretty deep; he'll probably be scarred for life.

For the first time in years, Yusei's blue eyes fill with tears of anger at Youshaganai for doing this to him for the simple crime of falling in love. He ducks his head, ashamed, as a burning tear rolls down his face. He's eighteen years old for fuck's sake, and he's crying like a baby.

Wordlessly, Jack wraps his arms around the shaking boy, and Yusei cries into his shoulder, not noticing as Jack presses a gentle kiss to his hair.

Jack holds Yusei in his arms, disregarding the tears seeping into his shoulder.

This would be the second ruined jacket in the space of two days, but to be frank, he didn't give a fuck about that at the moment. He had his best friend back, and it just seemed right having Yusei in his arms like that.

He gently kisses the top of Yusei's head without really knowing why. They stand there for a while like that, and when Yusei looks up at him, Jack wipes away a few tears with his fingertips.

"Let's have another look at that arm," he says gently. Yusei sighs, and holds it out resignedly.

He sponges off a little blood which had seeped out of the cut overnight, and notices with alarm that it is faintly green around the edges. He touches it lightly, and Yusei hisses in pain.

"Shit, this doesn't look good." Jack whispers. "We should probably get you to a doctor before this gets infected." He tears a strip of fabric from his second ruined jacket, and ties it round Yusei's arm. "Come on!"

They tiptoe down the stairs, careful not to alert Jack's mother to the presence of a second boy in the house.

The front door opens with a dangerously loud creak, and both boys cringe, expecting to be found out.

"Where are you going, Jack?" his mother calls from the dining room.

"Nowhere, mum!" he yells as they both run down the street as fast as their legs will carry them.

Youshaganai wipes the blood off his knife from his most recent kill. It had been a few children, and they hadn't put up much of a fight. It had been fun to hear their screams, fun to paint pretty pictures in their blood.

But they didn't have much on them worth taking, save for a couple of quid and a few biscuits. His gang are hungry, and some children's snacks weren't enough to sustain a dozen grown men.

If they had gone ahead and killed that rich blond man the previous night, today they'd be eating like kings. Who knows how much money they'd have got their hands on if it wasn't for that little brat Yusei?

Yusei...

That scrawny little boy, who never killed anybody and only stole when he couldn't avoid it, is the first member of his gang ever to talk back to him, to defy his orders. Although he doesn't show it, it shocks him deeply. He can't have his associates thinking they have the right to question his authority or that they have any say in what goes on.

From the moment Yusei defended the stranger, he was the enemy.

And the enemy is not allowed to live.

Yusei was so naive, thinking that Youshaganai would let the man go because he loved him. And where did that love get him? He will be dead now, face-down on the cold ground in a puddle of his own congealed blood.

Youshaganai smirks. He is the most sadistic, unforgiving person in Neo Domino, and anyone who crosses him cannot hope to live.

He gasps suddenly, as a pair of figures in the distance catches his eye, walking out of the doctor's surgery.

Speak of the devil.

One is tall and blond, the other slighter with spiky dark hair. Their arms are linked, and he recognises them as Yusei and the man from last night.

"So, the dead man lives," he mutters to himself. He raises his voice, and points at them. "Look who it is."

**Yes, I am aware that Jack is being too nice.**

**Yusei is also a bit out of character, but don't worry. Soon enough he'll get a chance to be heroic and badass.**

**Please please please please review, this story feels unloved.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm actually updating this again. I was going to discontinue it due to a lack of interest and positive feedback, but once I start something I like to finish it because I'm a stubborn bitch.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains OOC-ness, violence, language, violence, homophobia, violence, blood and character death (OC). DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.**

**I think I enjoy writing the violence a little too much.**

**This will be the penultimate chapter, so there will only be one more to go and maybe an epilogue. Thanks to anyone who has bothered to read and review this story, it's appreciated.**

**CHAPTER 8**

Youshaganai emerges from the shadows, his eyes glinting terribly as a cruel smirk spreads across his face.

"So, the dead man lives," he says to himself. He turns to his gang members, his puppets; his smile widening and danger emanating from every syllable he utters. "Look who it is."

Jack strolls down the street, one arm slung protectively over Yusei's shoulder. Neither of them says anything simply because there isn't anything to be said; and instead there is a comfortable, companionable silence. It's a sign of how good their friendship is that they can just walk together in silence, with neither of them feeling compelled to break it.

Jack looks down at Yusei, whose body is still littered with cuts and bruises from the attack, and feels a stab of pity for the spiky-haired boy. The doctor had washed and properly bandaged the cuts to stop them getting infected, and told Jack sternly to make sure Yusei gets enough to eat. He's been through a lot, having to live on the streets all his life; but Jack hopes that time will be over soon. After all, the two of them are back together, so things can only get better from here.

The pinkish gold of sunset slowly starts to diffuse across the horizon as they walk back through the park, accentuating Yusei's caramel skin and the orange stripes in his hair; and Jack thinks absurdly that it should be sunset all the time, because the colours make Yusei look even more beautiful than normal, which in his eyes is a considerable achievement.

Yusei looks up at Jack, and his cheeks tint adorably pink when he realises his friend has been staring at him. Jack wonders why, because it couldn't possibly be that Yusei likes him.

...Could it?

He stops walking, unaware of the dark shadow following behind them, and looks straight down into Yusei's eyes. The shorter boy's cheeks are still pink, his blue eyes are wide, and his lips are slightly parted. Barely conscious of what he is doing, Jack lowers his face towards Yusei, whose eyes flutter closed. Their lips are mere centimetres away from touching, when...

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the faggoty midget and his boyfriend."

Jack's lips are inches from his. Yusei's heart beats erratically as he realises what is coming. He closes his eyes, and tilts his face upwards...

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the faggoty midget and his boyfriend."

Yusei jerks his face away, feeling like ice was spreading through his insides.

He knows that voice.

Shitshitshit.

"I thought I killed you already. No matter, now I'll be able to do it again."

There was no mistaking it. Now, numb panic grips him like a fist as he slowly turns his head, hoping against hope that he wouldn't see...

The horribly familiar man stands behind them smirked, twirling a knife like a baton through his long fingers. Which, Yusei is alarmed to see, are stained with blood around the nails.

He can practically hear the cogs in Jack's brain working. Strange man. Holding a knife. Knows Yusei. Wants to kill him. Has already tried...

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Jack yells, launching himself at Youshaganai. "STAY AWAY FROM YUSEI!" He throws a punch at the other, which catches him on the mouth. Youshaganai reels backwards momentarily, spitting out his own blood, and grins. The crimson dripping from his mouth, as well as the wild, maniacal look in his eyes, makes the sight even more frightening.

"You're strong, I'll give you that," he smirks up at Jack, who is standing over him, ready to strike again. "But your reflexes are much too..." he grips the knife, his whole body tensing up like a coil.

"Slow!" He springs upward like a jack-in-a-box, his right arm shooting forwards like a rocket and plunging the knife-blade deep into Jack's unguarded stomach.

"NO!"

The scream leaves Yusei's mouth without his permission, a raw and desperate sound as he watches Jack's knees buckle. The blond man falls to the floor as if in slow motion, the knife still lodged in his abdomen like a macabre kebab stick, blood spattering on the ground around him.

"No- Jack- no..."

He kneels down next to the man he has fallen in love with; wonderful, strong Jack who has looked after him, lying bloody and broken on the ground.

"I promise I won't let you die, Jack," he whispers, taking hold of Jack's clammy hands. "I... I love you." As proof of his promise, Yusei bends down and gently kisses Jack's lips for the first time. It's soft and bittersweet, and Jack tastes like cinnamon and blood. Something cold and wet touches Yusei's cheek. A tear, but he's not sure if it's his or Jack's.

Blinding pain explodes through Yusei's skull as the metal toecap of Youshaganai's boot collides hard with the back of his head, sending him sprawling across Jack's legs.

"That. Was. Fucking. Disgusting." hisses Youshaganai, pressing his foot down into Yusei's chest. Yusei tries to lift his head, but the world spins and lurches dizzyingly around him. The pressure on his chest increases, and he cries out in pain as one of his ribs breaks with a sound like a gunshot.

"Did that hurt, fag?" Youshaganai asks with a sadistic laugh. He presses down on the hurt area again, smirking at Yusei's yelps of pain. He crouches down so he is on eye-level with the spiky-haired boy, and slaps hard him across the face. Yusei gasps in pain, cheek stinging, as the gang leader plants a knee on his abused ribcage.

"Look at you. You're pathetic!" he sneers. "You're even worse than your loser of a boyfriend."

"Yu...sei..."

Jack's amethyst eyes are unfocused and half closed, and he sounds as if every syllable is hurting him.

"Kick... his arse... for me... okay?"

Then he goes still, his eyes sliding shut as he fades into unconsciousness.

Yusei's hands close around the knife handle. Such a cold, horrible thing doesn't belong in Jack's perfect body. He eases it slowly and lovingly out of Jack's stomach, and it comes free with a sickening squelch.

"Hey, Youshaganai?" he asks in an emotionless voice.

"What is it, fucker?"

"You think you're so strong and powerful, with all your minions who are too scared to disobey you. You think you're so good at fighting, because of all the people you've killed. But there's still one vital thing you don't understand."

"What's that? Love?" Youshaganai sneers. But an infinitesimally tiny flash of worry crosses his face at the prospect that there might be something he doesn't know, something he could have overlooked.

"It's called irony."

"What the...!" Youshaganai's voice is cut off as the knife, still coated in Jack's blood, slices through his throat.

"Your reactions are too slow," states Yusei coldly, his expression not changing in the slightest.

Blood sprays in a fountain from the severed windpipe of Neo Domino's most dangerous criminal. Youshaganai sways on the spot, shock etched across his face, and for a split second, he knows he is finished. Silently he keels over, twitching; and eventually goes still.

_It was a quick death_, Yusei thinks. _More than he deserves. But if I'd drawn it out for my own satisfaction, I'd be as bad as he was._

It isn't long before his throbbing head and ribs become so intense that he passes out, curled up with his head on Jack's chest and soaked with the blood of his love and his enemy. The three of them lie there on the ground, blood mingling into the dirt, until an ambulance arrives in the early hours of the morning.

**What will happen next? I'm seriously tempted to make one or both of them die, to make it into a nice little tragedy.**

**If anybody is reading this and cares about the story at all, I beg you from the bottom of my heart to write a review and give me some feedback.**

**Live long and prosper.**

**-Fluffy**

****


	9. Chapter 9

**I haven't updated this story in forever. Gomenasai! Don't hit me! TT_TT My old laptop broke, and it had all my writing on it :'( I've only just got a new one.**

**In the billion years since I last posted a chapter, I've still been getting reviews, so it's nice to know that people are still following my stories. Thanks everyone *hands out free noodles***

**CHAPTER WARNINGS: a couple of swearaging words and mentions of violence. This chapter's pretty tame.**

**CHAPTER 9**

_Warm fresh blood, soaking his clothes._

_Raised voices, distorted and far away._

_Flashing lights, moving figures around him._

_Pain._

_So much pain._

x

It's early morning; he can tell from the thin, watery sunlight slowly trickling into the darkened room. Shadows, like grey satin, are hanging from cabinets and draping themselves across the floor, and white curtains flutter like ghosts in the breeze from an open window.

Where is he?

Who is he?

What is he doing here?

When he tries to sit up in bed, a searing pain explodes in his skull like a firework. Hissing in agony, he clutches his head until the room stops spinning and the pain subsides a little; and, blinking away the haze of dizziness, catches a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror.

Oh. So that's what he looks like.

Looking back at him is the face of a teenage boy with deep blue eyes and dishevelled black hair. Thick white bandages are wrapped tightly around his head and chest, and dark bruises are blooming all over his body.

He wonders how they got there.

_Thinking hard, he can remember fragments. A sinister smile, a yell of pain, the taste of blood and cinnamon in his mouth. Pain exploding in his head and ribs, the flash of a knife…_

He doesn't know if these things really happened, or if they were merely products of his disoriented mind.

He doesn't even really know who he is.

In the shadows of a silent hospital ward somewhere in Neo Domino, a nameless boy gives into his fatigue and succumbs to unconsciousness.

x

When he wakes again, the curtains are drawn and the room is filled with bright sunlight. Someone is standing over him…

_A shadowy figure twirls a knife through his fingers, the blade glinting silver in the dim light…_

He sits up suddenly in alarm. Too fast; his head throbs painfully and the room lurches in front of his eyes. A pair of arms firmly push him back onto the pillows.

"Lie back down, you'll hurt yourself."

The person in front of him comes into focus. She's a young woman with short maroon hair, wearing a white coat and a concerned frown. The tag on her coat reads 'Doctor Akiza Izayoi'.

"You've had a pretty bad head injury, Mr. Fudo," she says, filling a syringe and inserting it into his upper arm. "You'll have to stay here until the painkillers kick in."

He takes the injection without complaint, too busy thinking about what she said. What did she call him again?

Fudo.

Fudo.

Yusei Fudo.

He remembers. That's his name, isn't it?

"Doctor, how did I get here?" he asks.

"We brought you and your friend in this morning, in an ambulance," she explains. "It looked like you'd been attacked. The three of you were lying in an alleyway, covered in blood. You've got a broken rib and grade 2 concussion, and I'd say you got off the lightest. Your friend received a stab wound to his abdomen, and is currently undergoing surgery to reconstruct some of his internal organs."

Memories come flooding back. A little blonde boy in the park, a toy motorcycle, a best friend, a secret crush, a knife to the stomach.

Oh, shit. Jack. He had forgotten about Jack.

How could he forget about Jack?!

Yusei sits up again, ignoring the sharp spikes of pain. "Is he going to be okay?" he asks urgently. "I have to go see him right now!" He gets one leg out of the bed before Doctor Izayoi wrestles him into a laying position again.

"We're doing the best we can. He's very badly hurt, but some of the best surgeons in Neo Domino are working on him. You should probably be able to see him this evening, if he pulls through."

If he pulls through.

_If._

Yusei clenches the bedsheets tightly in his fists. Jack Atlas can't die. He has to survive, there's no _if _about it. He always seemed so strong, so brilliant, so invincible…

…and Yusei loves him.

A world without Jack wouldn't be worth living in. He'd be back to loneliness and sleeping rough and gang violence and being ignored by society.

Jack has to make it. Whatever happened last night won't finish him off.

Last night…

"Doctor Izayoi, you said there were three of us." Yusei states, and the doctor nods in assent. "What happened to the third?"

"He died," she said plainly. "Severed windpipe. There was nothing we could do."

_Youshaganai's voice is cut off as the knife, still coated in Jack's blood, slices through his throat._

_"Your reactions are too slow," states Yusei coldly, his expression not changing in the slightest._

_Blood sprays in a fountain from the severed windpipe of Neo Domino's most dangerous criminal. Youshaganai sways on the spot, shock etched across his face, and for a split second, he knows he is finished. Silently he keels over, twitching; and eventually goes still._

Yusei's eyes widen in shock at the memory, and hot bile burns his throat.

"I think… I think I killed him," he says in a hoarse voice.

x

**Ok, I lied. This isn't the last chapter. There will be at least one chapter and an epilogue to go. (There is actually a few ways I could go with this that would make it much longer and have a load of drama, but I'm starting my A Levels this year, and I might not have much time for serious writing shit)**

**The next chapter should hopefully be up sometime fairly soon, and I know more or less what I'm going to write.**

**Hooray for overcoming writer's block!**

**Reviews feed the poor starving Author-chan.**

**P.S. Is anyone familiar with the band 'High and Mighty Color'?  
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